Payload capacity when towing

Bringing this back up with some mostly relevant firsthand experience from this weekend.

Equipment:

-2019 F150 3.5EB, if I'm reading the charts right 11k-ish towing and 2030lb payload, stock aside from airbags on the rear axle

-20' enclosed trailer, probably a touch over 7500lb with car and camping gear

-two adults, a spare set of wheels and tires, two additional tires, tools, jack and stands, bikes, and a back seat full of random gear and stuff

We've never measured tongue weight but as Pete mentioned we've found that this truck tows much better with a bit of extra tongue weight. I wouldn't be surprised if it was in the 900-1000 lb range. With that plus us and all the other gear I wouldn't be surprised if we were pushing 1900 lbs total payload of the 2030lb rating. Initial ride wasn't great, but once we cranked up the airbag pressure it wasn't really any worse than rolling with just the car/trailer and one person in the truck. Definitely would not attempt on fully stock suspension. With just the car and trailer it was passable but not great, adding in the extra weight makes them necessary IMO. Driving home we were on the front edge of a storm that had 40mph gusts at the location we left from so there were some pretty decent cross winds at times. Wasn't the best feeling in the world but never felt like I wasn't in control or needed to slow down. With an open trailer I'd guess that would be much less of an issue.

I think my conclusion is that once you toss airbags on the truck, payload rating is much less important that tow rating. I can't imagine towing a 10k+ trailer with zero payload other than tongue weight would have been anywhere near as enjoyable of an experience as towing a 7500lb trailer with nearly maxed payload was.

In reply to dps214 :

You didn't mention it, but are you using a weight distribution hitch? And at what trailer weight does ford recommend them? I've got a similar '13 F150 and I hear a lot of people talk about airbags when towing heavy, but no one talks about WDHs. I was thinking that Ford recommended them above a certain trailer weight but I can't remember. 

Not sure what Ford's recommendation is, but the stock hitch receiver, even with the max tow package, is only rated for 500lb tongue weight without a WDH. In this case, the truck's owner didn't want to deal with the expense or annoyance of a WDH and also wasn't a fan of the way the factory hitch was mounted so they ripped that out and replaced it with an aftermarket receiver rated for I think 1500lb tongue weight. WDH probably would have reduced the need for airbags, but not eliminated the need entirely I don't think. The only ill effect we can really tell is that the lack of truck nose weight / weight transfer makes it struggle a touch under braking. But I discovered that turning up the gain on the trailer brakes a bit makes a big improvement and honestly the truck's brakes are a bit uninspiring even driving empty.

1500lbs without WDH seems quite high, that's worth double checking. The nice thing about the WDH is that it puts a good amount of weight over the front too and balances things out. My 24' enclosed I can feel if I leave the WDH off if it's empty ( I'm lazy) but with it on I don't even notice it loaded up with car and gear.

I was going from memory, but from looking at etrailer it looks like it's probably 1000lb or 1200 w/WDH. In any case, better than the stock hitch and enough for what we're doing, if potentially cutting it a bit close.